Impetus
by Tozz
Summary: Each person exerts a force on another, no matter what the distance. This pull, however, cannot always overcome inertia: the tendency to remain unchanged… Two brothers, Kurt and Joe, spend the summer learning of the cruel and beautiful workings of fate.
1. impetus

So, I'm recklessly starting up another longfic... this one should be around 4 chapters (not counting this intro). It's based on Magical Melody.

I got the idea sitting in physics class. Go figure. My teacher somehow made the conservation of energy sound romantic...

Oh, um, so, expect some serious noncanonness in terms of pairings. This whole thing is kind of an experiment for me.

As always, feedback is appreciated.

x x x

**the impetus**

Gravitational force is exerted by all objects, not just the Earth. Every object imposes a force on every other object, and the further apart the objects are, the greater the pull.

In other words, two objects separated by a great distance—be it a mile, an ocean, a galaxy—still pull on one another, a pull that only increases with the space between them.

This applies to everything in the universe, including people. Without trying, without even knowing of the other's existence, each person exerts a force on another, no matter what the distance. It is known as potential energy.

This pull, however, this potential—it cannot always overcome inertia: the tendency to remain unchanged…

x x x


	2. first

**first**

Joe had started getting up early to watch the weather, just to avoid Kurt seeing him and making one of his snarky little comments.

"How's the _weather_?" he'd ask. Or maybe, "Heard it's supposed to get pretty _hot_."

Okay, so nothing particularly biting, but that wasn't the point. It wasn't the words themselves, it was the emphasis. The tone. He was the older brother—two years older at that. He deserved some respect. Kurt barely spoke as it was, so it would hardly be going out of his way if he'd just did Joe a favor and kept his mouth shut.

Joe sat hunched on the couch, remote in hand, his expectant gaze locked on the television. Just two minutes until the weather report, two agonizing minutes spent with eyes darting from the clock to the TV to the clock to the TV and then, finally—

"Good morning. Here is today's weather report. Skies in the morning will be clear, followed by…"

"I thought I heard the TV on."

Joe jumped at the voice from behind him, and turned and scowled at the source as soon as he recognized it as his brother's.

"Get lost," Joe huffed, and then went back to watching the screen.

"You woke me up," Kurt said over his shoulder as he drifted back out of the room.

"Brat," Joe said under his breath. He stayed on the couch until the weather segment was over, listening to the weather girl tell him about humidity levels and the chance of precipitation and this weekend's perfect temperatures. Then he flicked off the TV and laid back against the cushions.

So, yes, there was a possibility he was in love with the weather girl. It wasn't so strange, was it?

Well, Kurt was way weirder, in any case.

x x x

His brother's obsession was definitely weird, in Kurt's opinion.

He never got that whole "love from afar" thing. It was useless if you didn't know the person. Joe clearly just had a thing for redheads—he'd dated Katie for a while, and then moved onto Ann, though he eventually dumped her. And now all he did was wait for the weather to come on so he could see the weather girl. The hair colors of the girls he chased after were becoming increasingly red. There was definitely a pattern, some kind of fetish going on there.

The point was, being in love with a person you didn't know a thing about, personality-wise, shoe-size-wise, or otherwise, was a completely, utterly, useless endeavor.

It was time for their lunch break, but he kept on working. He wanted to finish off all the wood that needed chopping. The Blue Sky Ranch needed a repair on their barn, and Woody, their boss, wanted to start tomorrow. He also needed to stop by the tool shop to see if the order of nails had come in yet. Not to mention, it wouldn't hurt to start looking at the blueprints Woody had drawn up for the next project, after the barn repair. But Joe, of course, showed no concern for any of this, despite the fact that it was his job. The second the clock struck noon he wandered off, fishing pole slung over his shoulder.

"Aw, take it easy for once in your life, Kurt." his brother had said just before he left, when he saw Kurt wasn't going to stop. "Summer's starting. The Beach Festival is tomorrow."

"Exactly. I can 'take it easy' then, when we have the whole day off."

"Look, it's time for our lunch break, that's all I'm saying. Live a little." And then he'd sauntered off, that annoyingly laid-back swagger.

But at least he could work in peace, with his brother gone. He soon had a rhythm with his axe going, and was quite enjoying himself, up until a different but also annoying interruption stopped him mid-swing.

"Hi there!"

He paused with the axe still raised, his back to the girl behind him. Then he sighed, put down his tool, and turned to face her.

"Hello, Tina," he said politely.

"What'cha doing?"

"Working."

"Oh. Well, I had a question to ask you…"

Kurt strongly suspected that Tina had a crush on him, though he hated suspecting something like that, because it felt conceited. But it was painfully obvious, even to him, with no experience on the matter. It was the way she constantly came around pestering him, for one. Any time she saw him in town, she waved at him like she was on a sinking ship trying to flag him down for a rescue. She gave him little gifts all the time, things she apparently had "lying around" her farm. For example, she gave him a lot of tomatoes, coincidentally his favorite food—even when they weren't in season.

He didn't say anything, just waited for her question. She usually spoke to him without provocation, and this time was no different.  
>"Are you going to the Beach Festival tomorrow?"<p>

"Huh. Must've slipped my mind." He wasn't sure exactly why he lied—she might leave him alone, maybe.

"Oh." She pulled on one of her pigtails, not saying anything else for the moment.

He reached down and picked up his axe, raised it again above his head, and then finally, she spoke.

"Does that mean you're not going?"

He sighed through his nose and lowered his arms once more.

"I might."

"Are you going to enter the swimming competition? I think I am…"

"Doubt it. Not much of a swimmer…"

"I can teach you, if you want."

"No." The hope slid off her face fast enough to guilt him, at least enough to reconsider his tactic. "But thanks for offering."

"You're welcome," Tina answered, brightening right back up, replacing his guilt with regret as quickly as it had come.

She hung around for a few more minutes, and then finally she left, but not before telling him, "I hope I'll see you at the festival tomorrow."

He didn't reply, only gave an inward groan. He picked up the axe again and finally brought it down on the wood, splitting it with satisfaction.

x x x

Joe ended up taking first place in the swimming competition at the Beach Festival. Of course, it hadn't been much of a competition—the new famer girl, Tina, seemed distracted and kept looking back at the shore; Dr. Alex was better at medicine than exercise; and Blue acted indifferent to the whole thing. If Jamie had swum that year, it might have been a little more exciting, but he'd twisted his ankle recently, and so Joe easily claimed the top prize.

Just as Joe reached the shore, however, he heard shouts. A crowd was forming a few yards away, none of them even looking at Joe. Well, gee—he hadn't expected a hero's welcome, but a little more applause for his troubles would have been nice. He tried to see over the heads of the gathering but couldn't.

"Where's the doctor?" someone said.

"Somebody get him."

"I can't believe he just collapsed like that."

"Who?" Joe asked, sticking out an elbow to wedge himself through. No one answered, but they didn't need to. He pushed past enough people to see Kurt stooped over Woody and a young woman. A woman with bright red hair. Woody lay in the sand, his head cradled in the woman's lap. Joe stared at the scene, dazed.

"Does anyone know CPR?" a panicked voice in the crowd screeched—it sounded like Nina. Joe didn't turn his head to look. He didn't trust his eyes right now, anyway.

"He's not unconscious," the redhead snapped. "But doesn't this town have a doctor?"

Dr. Alex appeared at Joe's side then, stepping forward and crouching down at the elderly man's side. His hair was still wet, plastered to his face and making him look too young to do his job, to save lives. "We need to transport him to the sanatorium immediately. Kurt, can you help me?"

Joe watched Kurt nod and then glance up, meeting Joe's eyes.

"Joe, give us a hand!"

"I—" He felt paralyzed, his eyes moving from Kurt, to Woody, to the woman. She stood then and held her hands up, addressing the rest of the crowd. "All right, everybody back up! We're gonna move him."

"Joe! Get over here!" He heard the tiniest sliver of fear in his brother's voice—his little brother. That was enough to reanimate him.

"Please, Woody, take it easy," Dr. Alex said as Woody sat up and braced himself to stand.

"Don't worry about me, it was just a dizzy spell," Woody muttered and then pitched forward again. This time Joe was there to catch him. Kurt took his other side.

"I want to take you to the sanatorium," Joe heard Dr. Alex say to Woody. "Kurt and Joe are going to help you. Do you think you can walk?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" They each took a couple steps forward, Joe and Kurt propping Woody up on either side. Woody's feet dragged, kicking up sand.

Joe turned his head over his shoulder to look for her, the redhead. He needed the verification that it was indeed her, Weather Girl, somehow unleashed from the television set out into the real world. But all he saw was the crowd of concerned faces, all of them belonging to villagers, none of them hers.

x x x


End file.
